


a special something called “love”

by jjokkiri



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Child!Changkyun, Fluff, M/M, Single Parents, child!jooheon, just a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16032932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: “This is daddy’s friend. His name is Hoseok,” Kihyun tells Changkyun with a soft smile on his lips, “Hoseok is daddy’s special friend.”





	a special something called “love”

**Author's Note:**

> _For Vanessa;_ who has been an amazing friend and held my hand through these past two years. I was late to gift you, last year, so let me make it up to you by being on time, this year. Thank you for being my friend, I'm so grateful to have met you. This isn't a lot, but I do hope that you enjoy it and I hope your day treats you kindly. You deserve nothing but the best. I love you.
> 
> And to everyone else who may stumble upon this work, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ♡

Changkyun is seven years old when he meets Shin Hoseok for the first time in his life. When he’s seven years old, he’s a small boy with a mop of dark hair atop his head and a goofy smile. When he meets Hoseok for the first time, his impression of the man is that there’s a stranger inside their house. But, Hoseok isn’t a bad stranger; Changkyun can tell. Changkyun can tell because his father has his arm linked with Hoseok’s; it’s a gentle touch, almost hesitant (Changkyun isn’t really sure why). But from just that, and that alone, Changkyun can tell: _Hoseok is a good person._

Hoseok is a tall, kind man with a firm build and a sweet smile, and Changkyun’s father is smiling shyly at the man when he bends down to introduce him to Changkyun.

“Changkyun, I’d like you to meet someone,” Kihyun says to him, while he is crouched on the ground in front of Changkyun. The little boy stares at his father, eyes wide in interest. He looks from Hoseok to his father and then back to his father, again. The first thing he notices is that Hoseok is just a _teeny-tiny bit_ taller than his dad. Changkyun clasps his hands behind his back, nodding his head.

“Who is it?” he asks, quiet, almost shyly. He already knows that his father wants to introduce him to the man standing right beside him. He’s seven and smart enough to figure that out on his own, but he asks, anyway. He isn’t the most comfortable around strangers, even if he knows that Hoseok has to be a good person. Even as he asks, his eyes are on his father; Hoseok is smiling. Changkyun isn’t really sure if Hoseok is smiling at him or at his father.

“This is daddy’s friend. His name is Hoseok,” Kihyun tells him, reaching out and taking Changkyun’s small hand into his own and clasping his other hand on top of the child’s. Kihyun looks behind him, a quick glance at Hoseok, and then a small smile on his lips; “Hoseok is daddy’s special friend.”

Changkyun looks to the man standing beside his father. He’s tall and has a nice smile. He’s just a tiny bit taller than daddy. Changkyun’s impression changes.

_Hoseok is a good person. Hoseok is daddy’s special friend._

 

 

 

When Changkyun tells his friends about the really nice man who likes to visit him and his father, everyone is just a little bit jealous that Hoseok brings him nice gifts, all the time. It isn’t only on his birthday that he gets cool presents from Hoseok. (His father frowns and hits Hoseok gently on the arm when he brings Changkyun excessive amounts of gifts, but he doesn’t stop him from doing it.)

He’s sporting the coolest Spider-Man watch in third grade on his wrist when all his friends flock to him and whine about how they don’t get cool presents from their parents’ friends. It’s a gift from Hoseok; a present from when he turned eight. Hoseok wrapped his gift nicely with blue wrapping paper, because it was Changkyun’s favourite colour. Changkyun beams proudly and he tells them that it happens because Hoseok is daddy’s _special_ friend. _Special friends are cool,_ he decides.

He gets asked what it means for someone to be a special friend and he isn’t really sure. His father only told him that Hoseok was his special friend and Changkyun figured that was enough information.

“I don’t know,” he says, his lips pursing into a small pout. “Sometimes, daddy and Mister Shin hold hands. I think that’s what makes them special friends.”

“Mom and dad hold hands a lot,” Soobin, Changkyun’s classmate, says. She says it as a fact, accompanied with the nodding of her head. Changkyun looks at her, curiously.

“Are your mom and dad special friends, too?”

“Soobin’s mommy and daddy are married, Changkyun,” Jooheon tells him, leaning over his desk. The older boy nods his head, confidently and smiles. Changkyun blinks at him. The older boy clarifies, “It means they live together and they hold hands a lot.”

Changkyun is quiet for a moment. Jooheon’s words puts him deep into thought, “So, if Mister Shin started living with me and daddy, they would be married like Soobin’s mommy and daddy?”

“Yup,” Jooheon says, nodding his head.

Changkyun believes him, entirely.

 

 

 

“What are you doing, daddy?” Changkyun asks when he comes home from school to see Hoseok hugging Kihyun. They’re both laughing about something quietly and it looks like Hoseok is whispering in Kihyun’s ear. Hoseok is the one who picks Changkyun up off the ground to watch his father cook.

“I’m cooking, baby,” Kihyun answers him, smiling softly. Hoseok ruffles his hair.

“Did Mister Shin tell you a joke?” Changkyun asks. The little boy tilts his head and Hoseok laughs.

“No, he didn’t, baby,” Kihyun laughs. He shakes his head and glances at his son, eyes twinkling. “He just said something really lovely and I’m laughing because I’m happy.”

Changkyun beams, “You’re always happy, daddy.”

“That’s right. I am, aren’t I?” Kihyun chuckles, nodding his head. He’s quiet for a second, smile never leaving his lips. Then, he tilts his head, fond gaze fixing itself onto Hoseok and he studies him for a brief second, “You can thank your Mister Shin for that.”

Changkyun squirms in Hoseok’s arms and turns to look at him with bright eyes.

“Thank you, Mister Shin,” Changkyun repeats, obediently. Hoseok laughs at him, a brilliant and hearty sound. With endearment filling his heart and his eyes, Hoseok shifts to bring Changkyun to sit on top of his shoulders. The child squeals with glee.

“You’re welcome, Changkyunnie,” he replies with a laugh, his larger hands holding onto Changkyun’s to keep him from falling. Changkyun giggles. “It makes me happy to make your daddy happy, too.”

There’s a silence between the three of them for a moment; it’s quiet but peaceful. There is just the sound of the pan on the stove sizzling, quietly. This is common between them; Changkyun comes home to this, often. He’s grown used to seeing Hoseok in their home a lot. He figures that he likes Hoseok a lot.

_Not only because of the gifts, of course, but rather because Hoseok makes his father happy._

The child breaks the silence after that short moment of thought.

“Daddy,” Changkyun calls from his spot on top of Hoseok’s shoulders. His small hands have little fists of Hoseok’s hair in them, playing with the dark locks. “Are you and Mister Shin going to get married?”

Changkyun learned the term from Jooheon and his understanding of it isn’t exactly correct, but it _is_ enough to get a reaction out of his father. Kihyun chokes on the spoon of soup in his mouth and he coughs, violently. Changkyun’s hands reached towards his father in an attempt to pat his back, soothe him of the coughing fit. It doesn’t really work but, he’s trying his best.

And while Changkyun’s inquiry catches his father entirely by surprise, Hoseok doesn’t seem to flinch at all. When Changkyun’s hands move back towards himself, the older man takes his fingers into his much larger hands. Hoseok squeezes Changkyun’s hands gently and he can’t see the way that Hoseok’s eyes twinkle, but they’re gleaming as he looks at Kihyun. _Adoring_.

“Maybe,” Hoseok answers him, eyes never leaving Kihyun. “That would be nice, right?”

Kihyun’s cheeks are flushing a bright pink but Changkyun’s eyes are fixed on the top of Hoseok’s head, attention entirely on the man speaking to him.

“Would you like it if your daddy and I got married, Changkyun?”

Changkyun thinks about it for a moment. Seeing Hoseok in their house all the time and seeing his father smiling because he gets to hold hands with Hoseok all the time? It’s definitely something Changkyun thinks he would be interested in. The little boy nods his head, confidently.

“Yeah,” he replies, beaming. “That would be nice!”

 

 

 

“Daddy and Mister Shin were hugging each other on the couch,” Changkyun reports to Jooheon, at lunch time, when he’s tearing a little string of cheese off his snack. He’s failing at making a cool shape, but it still tastes good. “They were whispering to each other. I think they were telling each other secrets.”

“Secrets?” Jooheon asks, tilting his head. The older boy is nibbling on a cracker and his lips are twisted into a thoughtful pout. He quickly comes to a conclusion. “I knew it.”

Changkyun blinks, “What did you know?”

“Your daddy and Mister Shin,” Jooheon says, snapping his cracker in half and offering it to Changkyun, silently. He continues to explain when Changkyun takes the cracker half from him, innocent eyes widened in interest. “They’re not just special friends. They’re an even _more_ special kind of friend!”

Jooheon says that daddy and Hoseok are something called “boyfriends”. Changkyun isn’t really sure what that is, but Jooheon is nine and he’s the smartest fourth grader Changkyun knows. Changkyun trusts him.

 

 

 

Sometimes, Hoseok watches over him when he doesn’t have to go to school and his father has to go to work. Hoseok is a great babysitter because he lets Changkyun play all sorts of games on his phone.

Changkyun kind of forgets all about what Jooheon told him about Hoseok and his father being boyfriends until a text message from his father pops up on the screen. He’s listed as _Kihyunnie_ _♡_. Changkyun knows the alphabet well and he knows that’s how you spell his father’s name.

“You have a heart on daddy’s name!” Changkyun exclaims, pointing to the screen. Hoseok chuckles.

“I do,” he replies with a nod of his head. Changkyun squirms a little in Hoseok’s lap, tilting his head at the phone screen. His brows furrow and he scrutinizes the screen.

“Why?”

“Do you think your daddy deserves many hearts?” Hoseok asks him. Changkyun nods his head. “Me too.”

“Mister Shin,” Changkyun starts, “Are you and daddy ‘boyfriends’?”

Hoseok blinks, “Who taught you that?”

“Jooheon,” Changkyun replies, “He’s the smartest fourth grader I know! He said that you and daddy are boyfriends and that if you live with me and daddy, you’re going to be married like Soobin’s mom and dad.”

Hoseok laughs, “Is that what you meant when you asked your daddy if he was going to marry me?”

Changkyun nods his head, “Yeah!”

“Well, your friend is right,” Hoseok says, “Your daddy and I are boyfriends. It means we like each other a lot. But, marrying someone isn’t only when you live with them forever. Marrying someone is when you love them a lot and want to spend the rest of your life with them.”

Changkyun purses his lips, thinking.

“Do you love daddy a lot and want to spend the rest of your life with him, Mister Shin?”

Hoseok laughs; a breathless but hearty sound, “I do.”

Changkyun beams, “So, you’re going to marry him?”

“I’m going to ask your daddy to marry me,” Hoseok tells him. Changkyun gasps, hands flying to cover his mouth. The little boy’s eyes widen and he bounces in Hoseok’s lap, excited. Hoseok grins.

“Do you want to help me, Changkyun?” Hoseok asks, smiling.

Changkyun nods, eyes glittering with determination.

 

 

 

He doesn’t really know how all of it works but Hoseok is kind and shows him what he’s supposed to do to surprise his father. Changkyun is really excited to see the smile on his father’s lips when he sees the pretty flowers they have prepared for him.

On the big day, Hoseok picks him up from school and walks him home, just like they planned.

Changkyun feels a little giddy when he’s holding the bouquet of flowers carefully in his arms and holding onto Hoseok’s finger with his other hand. It’s exciting.

There’s a little bounce to his step as he follows Hoseok down the sidewalk, back to their apartment.

“Daddy is going to love it,” Changkyun says, matter-of-factly. “He loves flowers!”

“You think so?” Hoseok asks, smiling down at the child. Changkyun nods.

“I think daddy likes you as much as you like him, Mister Shin,” he says, happily. “He’s going to like everything you do! Just like how daddy likes all the drawings I make for him.”

(And he’s right because his father is so happy when they present him with the bouquet of flowers and the ring tied to the stem of the rose that Hoseok is holding.

Hoseok has a whole speech prepared for his father and Changkyun tries his best to listen. But, Changkyun doesn’t really understand very much of the speech aside from the repetition of how much Hoseok says he loves Kihyun. Still, Changkyun is smiling the entire time.

Kihyun is so happy that he bursts into tears, wrapping his arms around Hoseok.

He even kisses him in front of Changkyun and laughs when the little boy covers his eyes, screeching.

With the glittering ring around his finger, Kihyun doesn’t stop smiling for the rest of the week.)

 

 

 

On the day of the wedding, just an hour before the ceremony, Hoseok’s hands are sweating.

He’s fidgeting with his fingers and he keeps adjusting his tie. Changkyun doesn’t see anything wrong with the way he’s dressed, but Hoseok keeps moving to adjust his clothing. The little boy hops onto his feet and he bounces over to the older man, arms crossed over his chest.

“You’re going to wrinkle your suit,” he says, frowning. “Daddy said that I can’t move a lot because I’ll wrinkle my suit! You should stop moving, too.”

Hoseok laughs, nervously, “I’m just a little bit nervous, Changkyun.”

“Why?”

“I just don’t know what to expect,” Hoseok says, swallowing hard. “I know it’s silly, but what if your daddy changes his mind and doesn’t want to marry me anymore?”

“Don’t be silly, daddy really likes you, papa! He’s not going to say no!”

Hoseok freezes, eyes widening, _“W-what did you just call me?”_

“Papa!” Changkyun repeats, almost proudly. The little boy folds his hands behind his back, smiling innocently, “You’re going to live with me and daddy, after the ceremony. You’re going to be like my second daddy, so I’m going to call you papa!”

Hoseok looks like he might cry, but they don’t get to carry on their conversation. Kihyun’s voice comes from down the hallway and Changkyun scurries off to find his father.

And Hoseok can’t seem to wipe the smile off his face as he watches Changkyun run off.

 

 

 

He takes a step back when they take the rings off the pillow in his hands. Changkyun is beaming.

And Changkyun’s impression of him changes, again, when he looks at the way Hoseok presses a soft kiss to Kihyun’s forehead and holds his hands, tenderly.

_Hoseok is a good person. Hoseok is daddy’s husband, now._

_And now, Hoseok is his papa and Changkyun loves him a lot._

 

 

 

(Changkyun is eight years old when he learns that what makes Hoseok and his father _special friends_ isn’t the fact that they hold hands a lot. It isn’t the soft kisses he sees his father pressing to Hoseok’s cheek. Instead, it’s this special something called “love”.)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. i love you guys! you can find me on twt @yuseokki as always.


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